Buildings collapse in magnitude 6.4 Taiwan quake

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck near the Taiwanese coastal city of Hualien late on Tuesday, killing at least two, injuring hundreds and trapping people inside several collapsed buildings.

The quake struck about 22 km (14 miles) northeast of Hualien shortly before midnight (1600 GMT), with its epicenter very shallow at just 1 km.
The government said 214 people had been injured.

Hualien is home to about 100,000 people and streets were buckled by the force of the quake.

Among the buildings toppled in the quake was the Marshal Hotel in Hualien, where two people were trapped inside, the government said.

Four other buildings, including two hotels and a military hospital, also tilted during the quake in Hualien, which is about 120 km (75 miles) south of the capital, Taipei.

Taiwan is prone to earthquakes.

More than 100 were killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016, and some Taiwanese remain scarred by a 1999 earthquake with 7.6 magnitude that was felt across the island and which killed more than 2,000 people.